Vertical Structure of PM2.5 and CO2 Concentrations in The Greater Bandung Air Basin

Abstract

The Greater Bandung air basin, surrounded by mountains and hills, has a unique topography that could block the horizontal displacement of pollutants. Consequently, air pollution in these areas is affected by the vertical-spread pattern of pollutants. Previous studies identified that PM2.5 and CO2 concentrations in Telkom University Bandung have a similar trend data vertically up to 30 m above the ground. Therefore, this study was conducted to observe and analyze the distribution of pollutants in the vertical direction and broaden the measurement points using drones. A drone was chosen considering the available high building is limited, also to minimalize the spatial differences. The measuring parameters are PM2.5 and CO2 concentrations and meteorological conditions (temperature/T, relative humidity/RH, and pressure/P). Two different times are chosen that are at day time (August 31, 2019) and nighttime (September 30, 2019), at altitudes up to ~80m. During measurements, it was indicated that the change of the rotor or the drone’s propeller speed affected the airflow. Results show that there are indications of PM2.5 deposition in the morning, which decreases to ~20 μg/m3 after the height of >40 m. The PM2.5 concentrations have been lifting and mixing evenly from the afternoon to the evening, increasing at night to ~15 μg/m3. As for CO2, concentrations level up to ~80 m altitude do not have a significant or relatively stable change.